ClosedOpportunity 2025NEA01CA

NEA Challenge America, FY 2026

At a glance

NEA Challenge America, FY 2026 is a closed federal grant opportunity from the National Endowment for the Arts. The application deadline was February 6, 2025. Individual awards are listed as $10K, with about 280 awards expected and $2.8M in total estimated funding. Applicant types listed as eligible include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, independent school districts and 4 more. Cost sharing or matching is required. It is funded under Assistance Listing 45.024 (Promotion of the Arts Grants to Organizations and Individuals).

Summary assembled from the official notice's fields. The official notice governs.

Key facts

Posted: Dec 12, 2024
Close date: Feb 6, 2025
Award floor: $10,000
Award ceiling: $10,000
Est. total funding: $2,800,000
Expected awards: 280
Cost sharing: Required
Funding instrument: Grant
Opportunity category: Discretionary

Who can apply

State governments
County governments
City or township governments
Special district governments
Independent school districts
Public colleges & universities
Federally recognized tribal governments
501(c)(3) nonprofits
Private colleges & universities

Based on the published notice. Review the official notice for complete eligibility requirements.

What it funds

Official synopsis as published by the agency, formatted for readability.

Challenge America supports projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved groups/communities. The program welcomes applications from applicants that are primarily small organizations, first-time applicants to the NEA, and/or returning Challenge America applicants. Eligible applicants include: nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U.S. organizations; units of state or local government; Federally recognized tribal communities or tribes; and applicants that have not been recommended for funding in any of the three most recent Fiscal Years in the NEA’s Grants for Arts Projects, Our Town, or Research Awards grant programs. Funding in this category is not available for individuals, fiscally sponsored entities, commercial/for-profit enterprises, State Arts Agencies (SAA), or Regional Arts Organizations (RAO).

Additional information from the agency ↗

Assistance Listing

What is an ALN?

45.024Promotion of the Arts Grants to Organizations and IndividualsProgram →

Reported obligations under ALN 45.024

Historical data · not a prediction

FY24

$92.9M

FY25

$50.3M

FY26

$94.5M est.

Source: SAM.gov Assistance Listing 45.024. Program-wide totals, not awards from this specific opportunity.

Agency contact (as published)

National Endowment for the Arts
webmgr@arts.gov
202-682-5504

Quick answers

Who is eligible to apply for “NEA Challenge America, FY 2026”?

The official notice lists these applicant types as eligible: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public colleges & universities, Federally recognized tribal governments, 501(c)(3) nonprofits and Private colleges & universities. Additional restrictions may apply; review the full notice.

How much funding is available through “NEA Challenge America, FY 2026”?

Per the notice, individual awards are listed as $10k, total estimated program funding is $2,800,000 and the agency expects to make about 280 awards.

How do I apply for “NEA Challenge America, FY 2026”?

Applications are submitted through the official source, not through GrantsJunction. Open the official notice on Grants.gov (opportunity 2025NEA01CA), and review the full announcement and application package. Organizations applying through Grants.gov generally need an active SAM.gov registration and a Grants.gov account, which can take several weeks to set up.

Matched on shared Assistance Listings, agency, categories and eligible applicant types.

OpenALN 45.201